“Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When I was a little kid, I first learned what sharing was. It was terrible when I was the one who was supposed to do the sharing but wonderful when someone else was told to share with me. Sharing was hard! Why should I let the kid with the sticky jam hands play with the fluffy stuffed bunny my grandma gave me for my birthday?! Especially when there is a perfectly good bouncy ball over in the corner he can play with. It seemed crazy. But I was told over and over that it was right to share. Sharing is still hard today. Why should I give my hard-earned money to help someone else? They are probably just lazy. Maybe they even have more than me but are pretending to need help. Or maybe they wasted their food and rent money on drugs or frivolous things. These thoughts are the thoughts of a selfish child, and yet they still pop into my head at the thought of sharing what’s “mine.” Today’s verse reminds me that sharing pleases God. He recognizes that it is a sacrifice, and He showed me how to sacrifice properly when He sacrificed His son for me. Instead of thinking awful thoughts about others and making excuses, I should remember Jesus’s sacrifice for me. And I should also remember that nothing I have is really mine. God blesses me with opportunities and gifts precisely so that I can share. He knows how wonderful it feels to help someone. When the sticky jam hands kid takes my fluffy bunny, I see his wide smiling eyes. He whispers an awed “thank you!” and my heart thrills a little with joy. Suddenly sharing doesn’t seem so hard.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for allowing me to participate in blessing other people with your love. Thank you for all you have provided for me to share. Help me to trust you to care for and provide for my needs. Teach me the joy of living generously without fear, judgment, or regret. I entrust my contributions to your loving hands to get them where they are needed most.

“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I never read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, but it seems like he may have based his ideas on today’s verse. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi. In this section he is trying to teach them how to have peace and unity. All the qualities he lists here are very positive: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, praiseworthy… But he doesn’t just say to think about things that have these characteristics. He says to dwell on them. When I dwell somewhere, I may not be there 100% of the time, but I return there again and again. I may have to go away for a time for a specific reason, but I return as soon as my task is complete. It is where I go to rest and rejuvenate. It is my safe sanctuary that I make my own. To have peace in this world, I must also have a mental “home” to return to again and again. Some people talk about going to a mental “happy place.” But Paul is talking about more than what makes me happy. Thinking about eating chocolate ice cream makes me happy, but I wouldn’t say this is morally excellent necessarily. Instead of despairing about evil, I should refocus my thoughts on good. Jesus conquered death and evil. He has a plan for me to participate in His work cleaning up the shards of evil that remain in this world. As I do this work He has for me, I will get my hands (and mind) dirty. Everyday, I should come home to shower off the day’s grime of evil with the true, pure, lovely… good thoughts of Jesus’s beautiful kingdom.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for your beautiful goodness. There are so many wonderful things, even in this fallen world, that feed my soul. Remind me of them when I begin to be overwhelmed by the ugliness around me. Teach me to live and work for you in the world while keeping my mind and heart focused on your truth and beauty. Please forgive the times when I have contributed instead to the ugliness.

“How delightfully good when brothers live together in harmony!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭133‬:‭1‬ ‭CSB‬‬

David wrote this. He may have meant actual siblings or close friends or fellow believers. Or all 3. Probably that. All 3. Peace between people you love is delightful! And harmony is even better than peace. It is “delightfully good!” Harmony is more than a lack of conflict. It is active and purposeful and includes a kind of synergy. As an individual, I can do some nice things, maybe even accomplish quite a bit. But if I work in harmony with others, together we can have a much bigger impact! The sum is so much greater than its parts. Think of a symphony. The cello sounds nice and the French horn can be beautiful. Each instrument alone can bring a lot of joy and beauty. But put them all together, playing in harmony, and the result is a thrilling, soul-lifting miracle. “Delightfully good”, as today’s verse says, is even too tame. But the key is the harmony. If a bunch of great musicians are just in a room playing their own thing, no one is impressed. It sounds like noise. People listening would run away with their fingers plugging their ears. The church should be like a symphony playing in harmony with Jesus as the conductor. I can practice my music alone, by reading and studying my Bible and consulting with the conductor. I can make some pretty good noises this way. But God created us to work together. If I get together with other believers, and we are all practiced up, and we all focus on the conductor, oh what mighty beautiful and delightfully good things will come from that church!

Dear God,

Thank you for your design for your church. I’m sad it so rarely works as you intend. Show me where I am playing off-key. Attune my heart to you so that when I join with others as part of your church my efforts are not just noise but contribute to your beautiful symphony of love.

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I don’t pretend to understand everything God does. I don’t even think I understand much at all about what God does or has done. This verse reminds me of that. What I do know is that when Jesus died, He was dying in my place. But He did what I could never do – He left all my sin behind in death and then returned to His previous life. And somehow, if I accept this gift of His sacrifice, I can live without the burden of my sin. So mysterious. Simple, but hard to understand. Things like this just don’t happen in my day-to-day life. People don’t die and resurrect themselves regularly. And it’s pretty rare that people do huge favors for strangers let alone die in their place. And yet Jesus did these things. And when He did, His Spirit came to live in His followers. That same Spirit came to live in me when I accepted Jesus’s gift of love. Again, so mind-boggling, mysterious, and bizarre. But the Bible says this is what happened. To believe it, I have to have faith.

Dear God,

Thank you for the miraculous and mysterious gift of salvation you offered me through Jesus. I gratefully accept! Teach me how to live with, to listen to, and be guided by your Spirit. What amazing power and freedom is available to me through your Spirit! Show me how to make use of this power and freedom to love people and please you today.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I’m realizing that humility and love go hand in hand. God’s command for me to love Him and love my neighbor is also a command for me to be humble. Pride is a barrier to Christianity. I can’t be a follower of Jesus and think more highly of myself than any of His other children. This has nothing to do with self-esteem though. God wants me to value myself and realize my potential as His beloved child. However, this value has nothing to do with any effort on my part. My value comes entirely as a gift from God specifically given to me for a purpose He lovingly bestowed on me. Part of that purpose is to love. If I feel I’m too important to care for someone else, I’m failing at my purpose. If I am too concerned about my own comfort to be generous to someone else, I’m failing. If I judge anyone else, I am failing at my purpose. If I think I deserve everything I have because of my hard work, I am failing at my purpose. Whenever I lack humility, I cannot love. In God’s kingdom, there are no tiers of worth in humans. We have all failed and fallen short of God’s standard. I have no right to have more or be treated better or live in a fancier house. Everything I have and am is a beautiful gift from a loving God. He could take it all away at any time for reasons He doesn’t need to share with me. Until then, I am to use it to accomplish His will.

Dear God,

I am so grateful to be your child, to have been forgiven, to have been raised in a family and community that taught me about you and your love. You have heaped blessings on my head that I often take for granted. Thank you for the reminder that I didn’t earn where I was born or the opportunities that came my way. There is nothing special about me that I deserve a better life than anyone else. Show me how to use the resources you’ve allowed me to have to love your children and fulfill the purpose you have for me.

“But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.”
‭‭Amos‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Notice the “but” at the start of this sentence? God is speaking here, through Amos. He is contrasting justice and righteousness with what His people are currently engaging in. They are being awful but pretending to be good. They are ignoring 98% of God’s commands but going through the motions with a few rituals, sacrificing a few animals, celebrating a few feast days. All while also worshipping other gods. A couple of days ago I said God loves to hear us sing to Him. But right before today’s verse God says: “Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” (Amos‬ ‭5‬:‭23‬) Why the huge difference? It’s about where our heart is. The apostle Paul says “If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” ‭‭in 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬. Today’s verse reminds me what is important when it comes to worshipping God. My heart. Am I seeking to please God or just putting on a show? If I am seeking justice in the world and righteousness is my goal in life, this is worship. More than any boisterous church service or solemn tearful assembly. I can’t pretend with God.

Dear God,

Forgive me for the times when I have just gone through the motions of worshipping you while spending most of my energy on myself. Show me where I can contribute to justice being served in my community. Teach me where I lack righteousness today. Give me the strength to make changes and worship you truthfully and wholeheartedly. Thank you for your forgiveness and generous patience.

“Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

This verse pops into my head sometimes when I’m busy doing “important” things and don’t feel like I have time to study my Bible that day. It helps me readjust my priorities. I think God is chuckling about my important things a little because He knows what is really important. He can see the big picture. He reminds me in those moments that He loves me. I don’t need to worry and stress because His will can’t be thwarted. If He wants me to accomplish some particular thing, He can stretch out time if necessary. He made the sun move backwards for King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:11. God wants me to take time for Him as my first priority. If I prioritize God and His will, everything that is really important will fall into place as He intends. If I don’t, today’s verse reminds me that anything I do apart from His will is wasted effort.

Dear God,

Thank you for the reminder that you are all-knowing and all-powerful. My striving is for naught if it’s not part of your plan. Help me to seek you in all things and to hear your voice guiding me in the right direction. Thank you for the refreshment I always find when I take time to meditate on you and your word.

“But I will sing of your strength and will joyfully proclaim your faithful love in the morning. For you have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭59‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God loves to hear us sing to Him. In fact He likes to sing right back to us. (See Zephaniah 3:17) Singing has always been a big part of worship in my life. I grew up singing hymns at the start and end of church services. These became “praise songs” which I guess are less formal or more modern. Now churches often have a whole “worship team” with a band that performs. It’s all good. Well, it’s good as long as the singing really is participatory and my heart’s song is aimed at God in worship. When there is a worship team, it’s really easy to fall into the habit of letting them do the worship for me. I just watch and listen or tune out if it’s not my favorite song. Today’s verse reminds me how far away this is from what God loves. He wants to hear from me! Even if I can’t carry a tune, He wants me to contemplate who He is and rejoice! Blurt it out! He wants me to remember all He’s done and thank Him with my voice. Even in the midst of sorrow and struggle, maybe especially in the midst of sorrow and struggle, He wants me to reach for His promises of love, hope, and peace that beautiful praise songs and old hymns can provide. I still fondly remember many of the hymns from my childhood. They are a great comfort like this psalm was to David as revealed in today’s verse.

Dear God,

Today I joyfully proclaim your faithful love as David did in this psalm. Even though he was hunted by enemies he sang with joyful gusto. Remind me how rejuvenating praising you through song can be. I’m sorry for letting better singers “worship for me.” Bring to my mind songs I need to sing right now, or totally new songs to sing to you.

“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The missing word to start the sentence of today’s verse is “walk.” Paul is telling the believers in the church he planted in Ephesus to “walk with all humility and gentleness….” Not just some humility, all humility. Not just a little gentleness, all gentleness. If this were a recipe, I would dump in the whole bag of humility. And the entire box of gentleness. Then I need to mix these together for a long time with a spoon called patience. And bake it in an oven called love. What comes out of the oven when I’m done? Unity. Paul has given us the recipe for unity among Christ’s followers, which is a very diverse group. Christians disagree on all sorts of things. We have different lifestyles and interests and backgrounds and skin colors and languages and ideals and political philosophies. But we share one God. One Savior. We are all one in Him. He is everything in this church, and I am nothing without Him. My preferences don’t count. My comfort is irrelevant. My fear is an insult. As part of Jesus’s church, He is what connects me to the others in the church. That’s why I need that entire bag of humility. It’s hard to put aside my ideas of right and wrong in favor of Jesus’s ideas of right and wrong. In fact, I am too blind to even recognize that these are different if I haven’t added enough (all) humility to my recipe. If I finally do see things God’s way instead of my way (because I used the whole bag), that’s when I need to add in gentleness. Only with the whole box of gentleness can I help other people in Jesus’s church to start mixing their own recipe of unity. Not by telling them they are wrong but by showing them what’s right. With a super-sized Costco box of gentleness. Then the patience comes in to play. I can’t expect immediate results. Mixing all this together takes time and the right tool: patience. Finally, if I bake all this with love, unity is possible. Without love, unity will never work. A church becomes just a bunch of people trying to be pleasant but accomplishing nothing of lasting value. With unity, whose humility and gentleness are mixed with patience and baked in love, God’s church can accomplish anything!

Dear God,

I want to be part of your vibrant, unified, effective, joyful, miraculous church. Remind me that I can always add more humility and gentleness. And show me where I’m lacking these things most. Forgive me for my pride disguised as righteousness and for my utter lack of gentleness. Thank you for you patience with me, for your love and forgiveness.

““But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

These verses are like the Golden Rule but more aggressive, more counter to human nature, more bizarro-world. The golden rule just says to treat everyone well (as well as I want to be treated.) These verses specifically pick out my enemies, people who hate me, people who curse me, and people who mistreat me. These are very strong words, especially hate and curse. Not only are they strong, they are active and purposeful words. They convey intent and derision aimed directly at me. My response to this level of loathing would probably be shock, fear, confusion, shame, maybe anger… depending on whether or not I felt I’d earned such contempt. I would do my best to avoid those people. In the end I’d probably hate them back. This is not how God wants the world to work. This is all upside-down to Him. And He wants His children to help turn things right-side-up. To do that I need to put aside my instinctual reactions and do the opposite. Jesus says my response to bitter animosity should be love! I should do good things for haters. I should bless the cursers. And I should make time to pray for the mistreaters. Notice how these words that describe my response are also very active, purposeful and intentional words. To counter active hate I must be active in how I love.

Dear God,

Teach me how to be more active in how I love the people who hate me. Show me for whom, specifically, in my life you want me to spend time doing good things. Point out who you want me to speak blessings over and pray for. Remind me of this verse the next time I am about to react to animosity with normal ‘human’ emotions, actions, and attitudes. Give me the strength to love instead. And I pray for your perfect kingdom to begin, where love reigns and all hatred is abolished for good.